Don't Believe the Lies!
by PotterPhantomKitten
Summary: The characters of Inside Out find themselves in a mysterious and sinister place, the sole purpose of which seems to be telling lies about them. Annoyance and hilarity ensue as they try to find a way out, figure out who's responsible, and not lose their minds in the process. Inspired by (and initially based on) Know Your Stars, with themes of Portal and The Stanley Parable.


**A/N: Hey, everyone! Don't worry, I'm gonna update my other Inside Out fics soon—I thought I'd be able to finish the next chapter of Intercom before my vacation but nope. But I really felt like doing this for fun, seeing as this has been done for other fandoms, I thought I'd give this a try—I loved the Know Your Stars sketches on All That, but I actually wanted to give this something of an adventure plot—think a combo of KYS and Portal. ;) So, enjoy!**

 **EDIT: Retooled this a bit so now it will be less of a simply KYS story and more of a mystery-adventure.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Inside Out or any other things alluded or referenced to in this fanfiction.**

* * *

The first visible ray of light in the room was the view of a spotlight turning on, shining down on the room's sole occupant.

Riley Andersen only saw darkness in front of her, the spotlight above hurting her eyes. She blinked in a dazed confusion. Where in the world _was_ she? The last thing that she remembered was hanging around San Francisco, having gotten some pizza from Yeast of Edin on a day where it sold pizza that _wasn't_ broccoli. She had been heading home, eager to relax, her surroundings had turned cloudy...

And here she was.

Seeing nothing around her, and nothing above except that spotlight, she looked down at her feet, hoping that it would provide some sort of clue. She could see what looked like the silver outline of a star, with an indigo blue surrounding it.

"Where am I?"

The question had barely left her mouth when the spotlight spread out, revealing more of the room. The walls were also a shade of purple with a little pink, a few other lights dotting the area. No indication of an exit.

Then music started, and a voice spoke from seemingly above.

 **Well, time to introduce our first guest...  
**

Riley's mind spun with even more confusion, looking around and trying to figure out where and what this was.

 **Riley Andersen...**

Riley looked a little startled, trying to find the source of the voice. "How do you know my—?"

 **... doesn't know her real last name.**

Riley arched her brow, the laughter that followed the voice's statement only making her more puzzled. "What? I know my last name!"

 **Prove it**.

The girl looked like she wasn't sure whether to feel offended or laugh. "It's Andersen.".

The voice seemed to speak with a challenging tone in response.

 ** _Spell_ it. **

With a sigh, Riley answered. "A-N-D-E-R-S-E-N."

She thought she had properly told the voice off, until she heard it again.

 **Riley Andersen... can't spell.**

Riley suppressed an eye roll. It felt like a school day all over again. "Okay, some people at school thought it was Ander _son_ , but my name is spelled with an E, not an O. I know Anderson's a lot more common so I kinda understand the mistake, but—"

 **Oh, I'm _sorry_ , let me start over... **

When the voice spoke again after clearing its throat, it sounded almost mocking.

 **Riley Andersalami...**

Riley's eyes shot open as she glared up toward the spotlight. " _What_?! What kind of last name is that?"

 **... she pretends to hate broccoli...**

"I _do_ hate broccoli!"

 **... just to spite her parents.**

"I don't spite them!"

 **Riley Andersunnyside...**

Riley facepalmed. "What am I, an egg?"

 **... she has fake teeth.**

Her eyes narrowed. "Hey, I don't have fake teeth! Just a gap, that's it!"

 **Sure, the surgeon just made them wrong.**

Riley's fists clenched. "I, what..."

 **Riley Andersomeone...**

Riley looked like she wanted to facepalm into oblivion. She couldn't win here.

 **... is a bipolar schizophrenic who escaped from the loony bin.**

Riley's expression changed from frustration to a horrified bewilderment. Now this was crossing the line. "What?! No I'm not!"

 **Then explain your emotions.**

"Huh?". What was this, a psychology class of blatant lies? "So my emotions can be a bit crazy," she admitted, moving one hand in a wayward fashion at the word 'crazy', "but that doesn't mean—"

 **It means that you talk to them and don't want anyone to know.**

"No I don't, you can't talk to your emotions! I—"

The sound of a door opening and five voices crying out in shock caused Riley to turn around. Her eyes widened as she saw five colorful characters who appeared several inches shorter than herself as they picked themselves up.

The golden-colored one blinked as she noticed the utterly confused human in front of her. "Riley?"

Riley stepped back a bit. Now these people knew her name too? "Who are you?"

"We're, um... well, we're—"

Before Joy could finish, the floor opened from underneath the new quintet, and there were five collective screams as the five emotions fell to who-knew-where. The floor then closed up like there had never been a hole at all.

Riley just stared.

 **Riley Andersen... has no idea what just happened.**

"Well, at least you got my name right, and that statement is right, but who were those people?". Riley looked over as if expecting them to reappear, then looked upward. "And who are you?!"

 **Does it matter? I'm just a disembodied voice, Riley Andersock.**

"Ander _sock_?! What?". Riley crossed her arms, glaring upward. "You're crazier than I am!"

There was a pause.

 **Riley Andersen... just _admitted_ she's crazy.**

"No I didn't!"

 **Oh really? Let's see what the recording says...**

There was the sound of a tape rewinding, and Riley heard her own voice projected back at her.

 _"You're crazier than I am!"_

 **Riley Andersen...lies to make herself look better.**

Riley groaned in frustration. "I _meant_ that you're the crazy one around here! You're saying all these lies and getting my name wrong on purpose!"

 **Sure, you go and say that.**

 **Now you know... Riley Andersen.**

Riley felt like throwing up her hands in aggravation. "Who are you even talking to?! Whoever they are, they don't know me! They do—"

Riley was cut off as the star shape in the floor suddenly vanished underneath her, sending her falling to wherever it was the others were being held.

* * *

 **A/N: That's it for chapter one! I figured that considering it took a while for the fandom to realize what Riley's last name actually was, i figured I'd make it a running joke with this chapter. :) Once I get back to my main computer I'll be able to put up the next chapters of Intercom, Radiant, and finally Riley And The Emotions React. Hope you enjoyed and remember to review!**


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